Hi, Mark.
First, I'm not the only one around here that can answer this question--far from it. But I love Davey's confidence in me! And he did private message me special. I'm doing something else, so otherwise would not have come in anymore tonight. (Probably not, anyway)
But, I'll tell you what I'd like to see you do.
Do a search right here at Tech Support Guy and look for the words "file association". You'll find where I tell someone (and probably other posts too) how to Shift+Right-click on a filename, and then associate to whatever program you like. If you find it, and then you install Works/Word and have the problem you mention, you can revert right back to Word 97 being your default Word--which I may also recommend.
I strongly suggest you install this into a folder called Works, and do not let it (default) install to the Program files.
I am not sure if Word with Works is a "true" Word or not. If it is, I'm not sure that it comes with Works, so much as it comes with your PC. Once you install it, however, let me know what tabs you have under Tools-Options, and I'll know right away.
If you DO have the real Word 2000, then may I suggest the following setup after you've installed it?
1. Tools-Customize, Options tab. Remove checkmarks in top two checkboxes.
2. Tools-Autocorrect, Autoformat as you type tab. Remove checkmarks from top and bottom sections, leaving the middle section alone.
3. Tools-Options, Save tab. Choose "don't use features not available in Word 97".
That should about do it for ya. Don't hesitate to ask questions and/or to be specific.